Van Gaal ignited Barcelona's 'golden generation' and now he'll fire Manchester United to the top this year, says Barca chief

King Louis: Will Van Gaal emulate his Barca accomplishments at Old Trafford? Getty

Josep Maria Bartomeu is adamant that Louis Van Gaal will be a success at Manchester United after seeing him develop Barcelona’s ‘golden generation’.

During his two spells at the club between 1997 and 2003, Van Gaal blooded Barcelona legends Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol into the first team and won three major honours while under club president Bartomeu.

Despite a tricky start to his tenure at Old Trafford, Van Gaal guided United to a Champions League finish and now looks to be building a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title next season.

Wayne Rooney said on Friday that the Dutchman’s methods have now clicked within the United squad, which comes as no surprise to the recently re-elected Barcelona president.

"Yes, it's a good move," he told reporters. "We know him from when he was at Barcelona and you have to remember that one of our best players of the past 15 years, Xavi, was brought through by Van Gaal.

"He put Xavi, Puyol and others into the first team. Van Gaal did something very good by having a lot of confidence in our young players.